Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, for providing me with an ARC of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea in exchange for an honest review!

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is one of my favorite books of 2022. It is a fun, fast-paced, and unique fantasy novel that kept me on my toes. Mina sacrifices herself after her brother's love is chosen to be thrown into the sea to appease the Sea God. Swept into the spirit realm, Mina meets a cast of characters and hopes to solve the mystery of Sea God and end the storms terrorizing her people.

I loved the world Axie Oh created, and I hope she one day returns to the spirit realm, so readers can learn more about the Gods. I am most interested in learning the backstory behind Death God and his love interest.

I'll definitely be reading other books by this author, and I am grateful I was gifted this book. Five stars across the board.

This luscious retelling reminds me of the fairytales I read as a little girl. If you're like me and you've never forgotten those stories - and if you enjoy fairytale/mythology retellings - this is the story for you. The tale completely captivates you and draws you in. I definitely look forward to reading more by this author in the future!

This novel was absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. My only issue was that the lore was so deep and wide, I found it difficult to keep track of it all! But that shouldn't be a problem for most readers.

This prose was gorgeous, and the crafted spirit world was so well-thought-out and the story was intriguing. I loved the mythological lore of this world. Stunning read.

Deadly storms have plagued Mina's village for generations. It wasn't always like this way. Many year ago the countryside was protected by the great Sea God--both a protector and confidant of the emperor. Everything changed when the emperor died. Now instead of blessing the area with protection, many believe the Sea God curses them with death and destruction.

Every year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to become the Sea God's bride in an attempt to appease him and break the curse. Eventually villagers hope one girl might be the Sea God's true bride--able to love him and remind him of his duty to protect the people and stop the storms.

No one is surprised when Shim Cheong is chosen as this year's bride. She is, by far, the most beautiful girl in their village. But she is also the only girl Mina's older brother loves. Rather than watch them both suffer, Mina sacrifices herself in Cheong's place.

Beneath the sea Mina finds another kingdom in chaos filled with lesser gods and magical creatures all waiting for the Sea God to wake from an enchanted sleep. Trapped in the land of spirits with a god unable to break his own curse, Mina will have to take fate into her own hands to break the curse and save both her people and the Sea God himself in The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea (2022) by Axie Oh.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a standalone, feminist take on the Korean folk story "The Tale of Shim Cheong." Mina's narration is practical but also open to wonder as she explores the literal magic (and dangers) of the spirit world. Oh introduces many of the elements found in the traditional story, even including one version in the text of the novel, so that readers do not need to have familiarity with the source material before reading.

Throughout the novel female friendship and matriarchal bonds take center stage as Mina again and again makes her own fate. Alone in the spirit world, Mina draws strength from memories of her beloved grandmother and support from the other former sea brides that she finds in beneath the sea. In saving Cheong, Mina claims agency over her fate in a figurative sense but also, later, in a literal sense as her red String of Fate repeatedly tries to steer Mina in directions she refuses to follow in the spirit realm.

Mina is a proactive, clever heroine who is very aware of her strengths as well as her vulnerabilities as a mortal trapped in the spirit world. With support from surprising allies including a trio of ghosts and other mythical creatures, Mina slowly begins to make a place for herself beneath the sea while also making inroads with understanding and ending the Sea God's curse. But it isn't until Mina embraces her role as a bride and accepts help from other brides, including Cheong, that Mina is fully able to understand how to break the curse and save everyone she loves.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a retelling that is as evocative as it is inventive; a gripping story where a girl has to learn how to save herself in order to save her world. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones, A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar, Spirited Away

An excellent and whimsical retelling of a classic S. Korean fairytale. Beautifully written, you are immediately transported into a vast mystical world. There are twists and turns only fairytales can provide.

Mina’s people believe that the Sea God has abandoned them and that it the root cause of the floods and the fighting. As a result, ever year the village sends the most beautiful maiden down into the sea to marry the Sea God to end the misery. Mina's brother Joon's beloved Shim was set to be thrown into the sea when Ming jumped in sacrificing herself in exchange. Ming ends up in the Spirit Realm full of minor gods and mythical animals. She goes off in search of the Sea God only to find him under an enchanted sleep. She then makes it her goal to wake him up and end her villages suffering. She has only a short amount of time to evade those who wish to stop her since humans are able to exist a long time in the spirit realm.

This was such a beautifully written story. I enjoyed the characters and their journeys. I will highly recommend this book to readers.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a great read! It was cleverly written, and I loved the worldbuilding that was included. I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this book and recommending it to others.

I was gifted my advanced digital copy last month via @netgalley but all thoughts in this review are my own.

Review:
This is a feminist retelling of a classic Korean fairytale, and what really attracted me to this release was that it was recommended to fans of the movie Spirited Away (my all time favorite comfort movie). I can assure you, it really lived up to that!

If you want to be submerged in a magical world full of gods, dragons, giant serpents, you name it, this would be a great book for you. The story follows Mina who is on a mission to save her city from distructive storms that have been wreaking havoc on her people. Every year, a young woman is sacrificed to be the sea god’s wife to stop the deadly storms, but this year is a little different. Mina goes beneath the sea, against her town’s plans for the sacrifice, to the spirit realm to meet her destiny. But when she gets there, fate has a different plan for her…

There is romance (suitable for all audiences), adventure, magic, spirits, and just an amazing and straightforward world that Oh has done a terrific job bringing to life. I really really loved this one and will likely purchase a paper copy and reread in the future just like I rewatch Spirited Away on a regular basis 😂❤️

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but if all these things sound up your alley, please pick this up! It was just released today and I can’t sing its praises enough. It definitely lived up to its description and more! It really did feel like being submerged into a Miyazaki style film.

5⭐️

Visually this book was so beautiful. Great descriptions of color and light and texture, of a fantastical environment. A strong heroine with a true and courageous heart. A story of sacrifice and of fate. A romance that was steady and slow but also epic in scope. The scenes from this book felt real when I read them and they continue to stay with me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and thought the characters were well-developed and interesting. It was also nice to see Korean mythology represented in children's fiction.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea was an honest to goodness delight. I love that our main character is so devoted to making the existence of everyone else better. I love Mina and her determination to do whats right for everyone. The writing here is so beautiful and lush and really paints every sentence in vibrant color for the reader to enjoy.

This has a little bit of like, found family, but in the afterlife, which i loved. There were twists regarding identity i didnt see coming. And a really soft and precious romance that i audibly said "aww" over. Fast paced, sweet, emotional, and definitely something i would recommend to a variety of readers.

A lovely YA fantasy standalone all about family, bonds, sacrifice, and love. The writing style was quite lyrical without tipping into overly flowery, the main character was determined, steadfast, and passionate, and the setting was enchanting. I hope the author continues to write more stories like this one.

My one minor complaint was that I wish the story had been a little longer, and that we'd maybe taken a little more time to see the main character interact with her brother before the plot picked up. Still, I had a great time reading it.

"Why must everything we love be taken from us? Why can't we hold what we love forever in our hands, safe and whole?"

⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Fewiel & Friends for a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea follows Mina, a girl from a local village who chooses to be brave or reckless and throw herself into the sea to save her brother's beloved: the chosen sacrifice to the Sea God. Will she be sentenced to death for interfering with the sacrifice or will she find away to awaken the Sea God on her own?

I was most excited to read this book thinking it was a story of a girl who is specifically not the 'chosen one', who goes on an adventure with her brother and the woman he loves to find the Sea God. That is my own fault for not reading the synopsis properly! I still found the actual plot interesting, but I guessed the main plot twist really early on and felt it dragged out for far too long. I also struggled to care about the side characters (particularly the children), although I understand why they were involved in the plot.

The writing was beautiful and atmospheric, and I did enjoy it! This one just wasn't very memorable to me. I didn't even realize I hadn't reviewed it for a month! Definitely going to try Rebel Seoul next.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for sending me the E-arc of The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh in exchange for an honest review.

“There are many pathways destiny can take.” Is a quote from this book that has stayed with me.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and man did it live up to the hype!
Elements of the folklore Shim Cheong and the Sea God are beautiful intertwined throughout the pages of this story. I loved the overall theme of this book, that we all have the power to make our own choices despite what fate is willing.What we wan tin this life doesn’t just come to us because fate wills it so, we must be brave enough to make the right choices to get to that outcome.
5/5 stars

***Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley, who provided me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

A feminist retelling of a Korean folktale. Do I need to say more? This book is a 5 stars read for me. If you wish to be transported into a magical world, this book is for you. If you are looking for an enchanting fairytale that will give you all the feels, this book is for you. If you liked 'Spirited Away', this book is for you. If you want to read a true masterpiece, THIS. BOOK. IS. FOR. YOU.

I loved this book. I always have loved fairy tales from around the world and this had the core of what I always remembered as my favorite parts. I couldn’t put it down.

This book was amazing. I coudn't put it down. It was magical. Higly recommended! The characters, the plots, the writting: wonderful and perfect.

Really enjoyed this!

I will update the review with the link to on our blog as soon as I can.

I'd like to thank the publisher Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet & magical story about friendship, forgiveness, and learning to step out of your comfort zone ❤️
Ellie is a part of a family & community who have magical abilities- they are able to create little charms to give you confidence, find peace, break little broken things and much more!
This magical component was super unique & I so desperately want to try a cinnamon cupcake charmed with confidence 🥺
Ellie’s family owns a tea store and their teas are enchanted with little charms
This summer is supposed to be the best summer ever as Ellie will be road tripping with her best friend and has compiled an anti-wallflower list to help her venture out of her comfort zone & create new adventures/memories
However, after a prank towards her ex-best friend and now enemy Jack goes awry, Ellie and Jack are now forced to go on this road trip together
Ellie is distraught and frustrated as she wants nothing to do with Jack- her childhood best friend who completely cut her off without any explanation
But, as they begin their travels there may be an enchanting spark that grows along the way 🥰

This was a sweet story- the magical aspect of it was my favorite! I also really enjoy road trip stories and this wasn’t an exception
I will say, the internal narrative of Ellie is very immature & I struggled with it but it’s also very much 16-year old appropriate so I think I’m just personally not connecting with YA as I used to sadly
Overall, it was a sweet, fast-paced story that 16-year old me would’ve marked as a fave for sure